Fly-catching pistol.



E. E. HAYDEN.

FLY GATCHING PISTOL.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 18, 1910.

Patented Jan. 3, 1911.

gmocwfoz QZAU?% EDWARD E. HAYDEN, OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY.

FLY-CATCHING PISTOL.

sense.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 3, 1911.

Application filed May 18, 1910. Serial No. 562,060.

United States, residing at Washington, in-

the District of Columbia, have invented certaln new and useful Improvements in Fly- ,Catching Pistols; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descr1pt1on of the invention, such as will 'enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to a fly .catching pistol, and the object of my invention is to make a simple, light implement shaped like a pistol, by means of which flies and other insects and animals may be successfully killed. or caught and afterward killed by detaching. a part of the pistol and plunging it into boiling water.

With this object in view, my invention consists in the construction and combinations of parts as hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawingFigure 1 is a side view, partly in section, of my invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-section.of the same, and Fig. 3 is a detail of the head.

The principle of the invention is the provision of weighted jaws hinged on the end.

of a movable part, the jaws being weighted outside of the hinged lines of the said part, so that as the movable part is moved forward, under the influence of a spring or other motive power, the weights will cause the jaws to fly apart, thus forming an opening, which opening, however, instantly closes when the head strikes an object or is stopped by the stoppage of the movable part. In other words, the device is a pistol containin a movable part carrying on its outer en which -jaws automatically open when the pistol is fired and automatically close when the motion of the movable part is checked.

The apparatus, in its preferredform, presents the appearance of an ordinary pistol with a rod having a head projecting therefrom. I

-1 represents the pistol grip, 2 the trigger guard, 3 the trigger, and t the barrel, provided with a slot- 5 on its upper side and with a sight 6. F \p 7 represents a spring normally forcing the trigger up and 8 the impelling spring, located in the barrel.

ithin the barrel is located a movable a head having movable aws,

part, consisting of a cage 9, made hollow either of wire gauze or of a tube provided with perforations and having the rim of the rear end solid, as shown at 10, and provided with a plurality of L-shaped projections 11.

12 represents a plug provided with a rear sight 13, adapted to be screwed therein and having. L-shaped openings 14, so that the cage and plug may be joined together as one m-ovab e part by inserting the parts 11 into the slots 14 and turning the parts relatively to each other, whereupon they become locked together.

On the outer'end' of the ca e 9 is a head jaws are provided with teeth 19, which interlock with ,each other when the jaws are closed, as shown in Fig. 1, and the weights 17 are located on the outside ofthe aws, so that the inertia due to the weights, aided by the resistance due to the air, will cause the 'aws to automatically open when the pistol 1S fired and to snap shut when the movable part stops. 7

The plug 12 is provided with a .slot 18, with which the upper end of the trigger 3 engages when the cage and plug are pushed back by hand or are drawn back by a pull on the rear sight 13, thereby compressing the spring 8.

The operation is as follows :-The ca e and plug being pushed back, compressing t e spring 8, unti the trigger 3 has engage the slot 18, the istol is ready for use. It is sighted at a y or other insect that it is desired to catch and the trigger pulled, whereupon the spring 8 forces the movable part, composed of the cage 9 and plu 12, the former carrying the head, outwar ly. The weights 17 being mounted on the outside of the aws 16, cause these jaws to fly open, this movement being aided by the resistance of the air. When the sight 13 has moved to the end of the slot 5, the movement is suddenly stopped and the jaws H to ether instantly.

The action is very rapi an the pistol very '9, it can still be further used, because in operation, as the jaws l6 fly open, the inrush of the air into the cage prevents the flies or other insects from escaping.

While I have thus described one form of my invention, I wish it to be distinctly understood that I do not limit myself to the exact details shown and described, as these gauze strengthened, if

might be varied widely without departing from the spirit of my invention, the prin cipal features of'which are the provision of a cage carrying a head with movable jaws, which are automatically opened when the pistol is fired and immediately closed when the movement of the cage sto s. Neither do 1- limit myself to'the materia s of which the device is made. For instance, the head 15 and jaws 16 may be made of rubber, orthe jaws may be made of metal with spring portions between the jaws and the main part of the head. The cage 9 ma be made of wire esired, by metal strips or wires, or it may be made of paper or other material. Similarly, the barrel may be made of metal, wood, or paper, and I do not restrict myself in any'respect to the use of any particular material.

Any desired means may be used for impelling the-cage and plug. For instance, by chan mg the shape of the sights 6 and 13, the impelling power could be furnished by an ordinary rubber band, passing over these sights. Instead of L-shaped joints uniting the parts 9 and 12, anysuitable fastening means might be employed. For instance, the end of the cage 9 might be provided with a projecting screw-engaging the part 12, or the plug 12 might be made hollow and 'screwthreaded inside, and the rear end of the cage might have a reduced'screw-threaded portion, engaging said lug, and many other detail changes might 6 made. Furthermore,

an ordinary skeleton shoulder iece could be applied to the pistol grip 1 in t e usual manner, if desired.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In an insect catching pistol, the combination with the barrel, tri ger and spring, of a compound part attache to move freely within said barrel for a limited distance, said part comprising a slotted head at one end, an intermediate, foraminous, tubular portion partly within the barrel, and a holjaws and at a ggeater distance from the center of the mov le part than the tubular portion thereof, so that the jaws will open and close automatically when the trigger is pulled, substantially as described.

3. In an insect catching pistol, the com- I bination of a barrel having a slot in its upper part, a tri ger, and an impelling s ring located in the arrel, with a com ound part adapted to move as a whole, an having a portion projecting through the slot in the barrel and acting as a rear sight, 'a portion of said movable part being hollow and rovided with foraminous walls and a be low head carried by said portion and provided with wei hted and toothed jaws, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature,

in presence. of two witnesses.

EDWARD E. HAYDEN. Witnesses N. CURTIS LAMMOND, A. W. NEALE', Jr. 

